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DAY OF PROTEST. Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David gives holy communion to a nun attending a Mass at the San Agustin Church on September 21, 2017, prior to a march to Luneta during the National Day of Protest on September 21, 2017. Photo by Maria Tan/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David urged Filipinos on Thursday, September 21, to stop the destruction of society due to "termites" that eat up "our collective conscience as a nation."

"Huwag po tayong magpatalo sa mga anay (Let us not be defeated by termites)," David said in a 2 pm Mass on Thursday at the historic San Agustin Church in Intramuros, Manila.

Called the National Day of Protest, Thursday was a day of rallies to mark the 45th anniversary of Martial Law and to denounce the killings of thousands in President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

The Mass at San Agustin Church was in fact followed by a 20-minute march of Catholic laypersons, priests, and nuns to Rizal Park in Manila, where they merged with other protesters for one of the biggest rallies during Duterte's presidency.

In his homily, David explained termites infest not only houses. "Inaanay din ang lipunan natin (Our society is also infested with termites)," he said.

(Let us not curse at each other on social media. We will not achieve anything with this. Let us not return insult for insult. Let us renounce cruelty. Let us renounce violence. Let us bring back our dignity as a nation.)

(We disagree that we should treat them like monsters to be eliminated like stray cats and dogs. We disagree that a criminal has no more hope of changing his life.)

To drive home his point, David referred to the feast of Saint Matthew, which Catholics marked on Thursday.

If people consider criminals a hopeless case, he said, then the Catholic Church would not celebrate the feast of Saint Matthew, once a reviled tax collector who later became an apostle then a martyr for the Christian faith.

"Hindi sana natin ipinagdiriwang ngayon ang kapistahan ng isang taong makasalanan, tiwali, ngunit binago ng pagtatagpo nila ni Kristo," the bishop said. (Then we would not be celebrating today the feast of a person who is sinful, corrupt, but changed by his encounter with Christ.)

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Welcome to Rappler, a social news network where stories inspire community engagement and digitally fuelled actions for social change. Rappler comes from the root words "rap" (to discuss) + "ripple" (to make waves).